A Dog Has Died By Pablo Neruda Analysis

The above poem had been written in Spanish by Pablo Neruda and had been translated to Engilsh by Alfred Yankauer.

Whenever we read a poem, we think of the theme of the poem that actually refers to the subject of the poem, the tone of the poem that refers to the atmosphere, mood and feelings that are conveyed through the poem, the poetic devices used in the poem that describes the fascinating effect of the poem, it also enhances the beauty and help convey the theme and tone recursively. Poets use of many poetic devices such as Simile (that is a comparison between two things with the use of “like” or “as”), Metaphor (it is a direct comparison between two things without the use of like or as), Imagery( that refers to the images created in the

As many others have observed, multiple tones are struck at the beginning of the poem. The poet titles the poem “A Dog Has Died”, then in the first line, says “My dog has died.” The distance between the man and the dog seems at first almost indifferent, but then as the poem begins, the dog’s status shifts, their relationship deepens. The line after deepens it all the more: the garden is a familiar place, a comfortable place that one tends and cares for. Being buried in the garden, then, seems to go from ownership to favor. Then Neruda finishes this first stanza with the line: “next to a rusted old machine,” drawing us back to the surface, back to being confused about the relationship between the man and his

“A Dog Has Died” is an example of elegy. Pablo Neruda in essence skips the first step of elegy that is where the speaker expresses grief and sorrow, then praise and admiration of the idealized dead, and finally consolation and solace. He is initially descriptive, but these descriptions begin to carry the weight of praise . Finally, Neruda goes back to his own mindset and worldview, he is consoled by the fact that his dog is “gone and…buried.”

Context:

Now, let us talk something about the context of the poem. Literally, everything exist within a context. The poem, “A Dog Has Died” has been included within multiple contexts. It is poetry, originally Spanish, then translated into English, and thus exists within the genre of poetry, translations of poetry into English, and Spanish literature. From there, it moves into subject matter: dogs, pets, death, afterlife, and materialism.

First of all we should understand why does the context matter and quickly move on to the context of our poem? Understanding context of any text(not only in case of poem) actually deepens the understanding of the text. To take a couple of contexts and see “A Dog Has Died” there, we should look to elegies of poet’s life , and other texts on pets. Poet evoked in order to give the poem enough strength and depth. Putting it in context with poet’s work and life, we will see who is he, and from there, proceed to a deeper understanding of what the poem meant to